A serial automobile thief hijacked a truck with GPS monitoring in Bakersfield and flees from officers at over 160 km / h

Joseph Dwayne Hale, 32, of Cabool, is charged with four crimes in connection with a December 18, 2020 incident in which he allegedly stole a truck and then escaped from the Ozark County Sheriff’s deputies.

Hale is accused of tampering with a motor vehicle, damage to property to a motor vehicle with the intent to steal it, first degree property damage, resistance to arrest, significant risk of injury or death to others, two cases of driving a motor vehicle in a careless and careless Manner that results in an accident, not stopping at an intersection and exiting a vehicle or trailer.

He was arrested on February 2 for a cash loan of US $ 15,000 and scheduled for a hearing on Tuesday before associate District Judge Raymond Gross to reduce the loan. Online records show he didn’t show up. The hearing continued until March 9th.

Theft of a truck with a tracking device

According to the Probable Cause Statement filed by Ozark County Sheriff’s Assistant Kyle Hannaford at 8:11 p.m. on December 18, he and Deputy Assistant Cecilia Schofield were sent to Bakersfield for a report on a stolen silver one Get 2018 Ford F-150 truck. The caller informed a dispatcher that he had a tracking device on the truck and that he would keep the officers informed of his location.

The MPs turned south on Highway 101 at Bakersfield, and about two or three miles south of Highway 160 they encountered the stolen truck traveling at high speed in the opposite direction.

“I activated my emergency equipment and flipped the suspicious vehicle,” wrote Hannaford in the report. “The suspect vehicle was a considerable distance in front of Deputy Schofield and at that point [me] but was still close enough to where we saw the suspicious vehicle turn left onto Highway 160. “

The pursuit is turning to Howell County reaches speeds of 100 mph

Hannaford radioed the dispatch office and asked the dispatcher to report the situation to the Howell County Sheriff’s Department and ask for permission to pursue the county. HCSD agreed, and officers followed Hale onto Highway 160 and headed east towards the West Plains.

“Speeds of over a hundred miles per hour were reached, but the suspect vehicle was still pulling away from Deputy Schofield and me,” said Hannaford. “Due to the traffic conditions and the irregular driving of the suspect, I deactivated my emergency equipment and resumed normal driving speed and continued driving in the direction of the suspect vehicle.”

Rollover crash

Hannaford radioed the Ozark County Shipping Office to ask the vehicle owner for updated information on the truck’s location. The dispatcher relayed the information and told Hannaford and Schofield that the truck was on the OO Highway and would turn onto 7320 County Road in Howell County.

The officers followed the director’s instructions using the tracking device in the truck. They drove down County Road 7320, turned onto YY Highway, and then headed north onto Highway 101.

“[We] Immediately hit the suspicious vehicle traveling south. I turned around immediately and caught up with the vehicle. I turned on my emergency lights and tried to put in a traffic control, ”wrote Hannaford. “The vehicle accelerated quickly and then turned left into a cul-de-sac on the county road.”

Shortly after turning onto the county road, Hale reportedly crashed the vehicle, hit a power pole, and broke it in half; the truck overturned and came to a halt with its wheels in the air.

An attempt to escape on foot

Hannaford was approaching the passenger side of the vehicle and Schofield was approaching the driver’s side. Hale tried unsuccessfully to smash the passenger’s window from inside the vehicle. When that failed, he was able to roll down the window and crawl out of the truck.

Hannaford ordered Hale to show the officer his hands, but Hale disobeyed. Instead, he turned and tried to escape on foot. Hannaford followed him and caught him in a nearby wooded area, the report said.

Hale was handcuffed and taken to the Ozark County Jail for treatment. Statements from the victim were collected and included in the investigation.

Predecessor

Hale is charged as a persistent perpetrator, which means that if convicted, he will be given an extended prison term. Pre-offender status is based on a previous conviction of at least two crimes in his past. The label means that for any charge, Hale will be tried as if it were a class higher than what is normally convicted.

According to online court records, Hale was found guilty of resisting or interfering with an arrest in April 2009, attempting to tamper with a motor vehicle in January 2010, tampering with a motor vehicle in July 2017, and tampering with a motor vehicle on two counts of Resistance to Arrest Escape in May 2018.